Google's Summer of Code...

This is a discussion on Google's Summer of Code... within the A Brief History of Cprogramming.com forums, part of the Community Boards category; 4500$ for students to program open-source stuff.
Information at:
http://code.google.com...

1. Everyone seems to want you to program in their exotic scripting language. Doesn't anyone program "properly" any more?

2. Unless you've actually looked at the CVSes for these projects, you're wasting your time. It'll take you a month or two just to figure out what does what.

3. The Linux bias. Okay, so it's always gonna be there, but when you're offering money to such a broad demographic, wouldn't it help to throw in a few Win32 opportunities that don't involve playing around with a widget toolkit? Microsoft already wrote the best one for that OS, it's called "the API".

"The computer programmer is a creator of universes for which he alone is responsible. Universes of virtually unlimited complexity can be created in the form of computer programs." -- Joseph Weizenbaum.

"If you cannot grok the overall structure of a program while taking a shower, you are not ready to code it." -- Richard Pattis.

What kind of oringinal ideas can we use? I mean, what types of projects can I make on my own? As others have said, I don't really feel up to the task of learning some other scripting lang or whatever, but would like to do some stuff with C/C++ and maybe get some cash for it. I actually have an internship at a software security company, I bet if I talk to some of my mentor ppl there they could have some ideas.